Bundle up for a month of Winter Olympics on TV

Veteran sports announcer Bob Costas (right) hands the Olympic torch to Mike Tirico, who will make his debut as NBC’s prime-time Olympics host at The Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

Competition in the XXIII Olympic Winter Games from PyeongChang, South Korea, begins today from 7 to 10:30 p.m. on NBC. The Opening Ceremony will air from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, with Mike Tirico and Katie Couric as hosts.

Tirico replaces veteran Bob Costas, who was NBC's prime-time host for a record 11 Olympics and now has eased into a sort of emeritus status. Couric replaces Matt Lauer, who was fired by the network in November for "inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace."

All together, there will be 89 commentators in the field for NBC, a number of them former Olympians. They include 1984 U.S. Olympic figure skating gold medalist Scott Hamilton and 1998 U.S. Olympic figure skating gold medalist Tara Lipinski.

For a dash of fun, Saturday Night Live cast member and Olympics super fan Leslie Jones (Ghostbusters) will reprise her role from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games as a contributor.

The games will run daily through the closing ceremonies on Feb. 25. Due to the time difference between here and there, many of the events will air live in prime time.

Time difference example: South Korea is 15 hours ahead of Little Rock. When it's 9 a.m. today in Arkansas, it will be midnight and already Friday in Korea.

In addition to NBC, some events will air on sister channels NBCSN (NBC Sports Network), USA and CNBC. For a handy overview of each day's lineup, including time and channel, check out the schedule at NBCOlympics.com.

For those who prefer to watch online, NBCOlympics.com will also stream more than 1,800 hours live and on-demand. This will include plenty of highlights and video features.

I suggest you refer to the schedule often. The action will be fast, furious and confusing. For example, if you're into the tense, slow-motion drama of curling, competition began at 11 p.m. Wednesday on NBCSN and runs until 8 a.m. today when ski jumping takes over.

If you're sticking to prime-time events on NBC, figure skating team competition begins at 7 p.m., today with the men's and pairs' short program. In addition, qualifying rounds in freestyle skiing will feature the men's and women's moguls. Canadian Mikael Kingsbury is the men's favorite.

Over on NBCSN, the American mixed double curling squad takes on Switzerland at 7 p.m., followed by Alpine skiing and luge live at 9.

The U.S. Olympic Team has 242 athletes (135 men, 107 women) who will go for the 102 medals up for grabs. Here's the list of all the Olympic events.